What is a casual employee in Australia?

A casual employee in Australia is one who is engaged without a firm advance commitment to ongoing work and who works irregular or intermittent hours. In exchange for this flexibility, casual employees receive a casual loading — typically 25% on top of the base rate of pay — to compensate for the absence of paid leave, notice periods, and unfair dismissal protections during the minimum employment period.

From 27 March 2021 (updated in 2024 under the Closing Loopholes reforms), employers must offer regular casual employees the right to convert to permanent employment after 12 months where there has been a regular and systematic pattern of work. Employees can also request casual conversion independently. The employer can only refuse on limited grounds (genuine operational grounds).

Casual employees have access to: unpaid carer's leave, unpaid compassionate leave, community service leave, and long service leave (after the qualifying period). They do not accrue annual leave or personal/carer's leave. Under the 2024 amendments, 'regular and systematic' casuals have improved access to general protections and, after 12 months in small businesses or 6 months in larger ones, to unfair dismissal remedies.